Starring:
Malik, Jaken (disguised as Grandpa Grim), Yagyu (disguised as Masako)
Date: December 31, 2016
Summary:
Information reached Scorpion Squad about a hostage that was in Rakuen, held by Triad members. It was now their duty to head out and retrieve him without much issue. Donning disguises, Grim and Yagyu engage in their mission, but what was once a task soon becomes a production and the market becomes the stage for the mercenaries turned actors. Joined by Malik, he is inevitably dragged into their play. Will their hostage be rescued? Will the mission be completed? Find out below!
"A Stinger by Any Other Name: The Rescue of Uta Inori"
City Capital: Rakuen
Back to the main city where the Scorpion Squad was sent to handle another issue. Information had finally led up to a lead in a missing persons case. The Triad hadn't truly left the city, just repositioned themselves elsewhere. This time, in the merchant district. They set up a shop that looked to be normal, but in its shadier deals, worked with stolen items and other forms of illegal business. Only one missing person has been identified to be in their grasp here, so the deal is to extract them.
"So, we finally got some real work on our hands. Triad been quiet, but now they startin' to get a little loud. Now that we know where they are, we can get in and do what we gotta do. As far as I know, all we need to do is just grab the person and bounce. We don't need no extra fuss, especially after what happened at the silk factory. If we run into issues, though, we have the permission to use force, lethal if necessary. We already interruptin' their stuff, so I know they ain't gonna like it, but whatever," Yagyu explained to Grim. She'd decided to discuss these things over tea at a small shop in the area. "Person we're lookin' for is an old guy named Uta Inori."
Grim sitting at the table looking about as out of place as burly battle-scarred mercenary can sitting in a small tea shop sipping tea. "So a covert extraction? In hostile locations with the odds stacked heavily against us." he pauses for a moment to sip some tea "It's almost unfair for them. So Uta Inori, what do we know if anything about this ~old~ man" he says quoting the old part especially since it's coming from someone half his own age. "Let me guess, he's in the furthest back room surrounded by inpenetrable defense's. Otherwise they would just send the my first mission shinobi squadrons instead right?" he says with a sneer.
"No, he's been used for his knowledge of rare goods. They keep him up close so that he can assess what comes through the shop and give a value to them that they can profit from," Yagyu explains to Grim. "So, he ain't too far and ain't even out of sight, but trying to get to him will still be tough. They keep around him at all times. So, we'll have to find a moment when we catch the group slippin', then we move in, take him and head off. Hopefully, without any problems, but if we do have some, then we 'bout to throw down."
Grim nods "An appraisal, I see." taking a sip of his tea "So we need a distraction or misdirection? Can't we just kick in the door, you use some of that shadow sorcery we snag the guy then run out?" he says scratching his chin before sighing "If only it was that easy, since you have been scouting out the situation you got any input?" he was formulating some possibilities, "We could pose as sellers, I'm sure we have some things laying around we can pretend is worth something more than the dust it's been collecting. That would get us in the door, but not much else" he says grumbling to himself before trying to silence it with another sip of tea.
"That'll work," Yagyu nodded as she drank the last of her tea. "I don't know how much of a face we have at this point or if anyone recognizes us. We did cover ourselves up last time, so I think we're okay at this point," she hummed. "I might have to change up the way I talk, cause I know that's a dead giveaway," she folded her arms and grumbled to herself. She liked talking that way. "I got somethin' we can use…" She reached into a satchel and pulled out a fez hat. "I swiped this off a bear that thought he was about to have a beef with me, but he thought wrong. I was with some Konoha peeps at the time and…I don't really wanna talk about that part," she rolled her eyes. "Anyway! I got this hat and the bear is safe. We can use this for our distraction. It /ain't/ bein' sold, though."
There is a long silence with only the sound of Grim breathing deep while in thought, "We should take all the precautions against our identities being known, if we are going to continually be facing off against them, it would behoove us to not being hunted down in our everyday life. I'm thinking a little stage makeup, sounds like we need an old man peddling some goods." before he deadpans at the younger nara "A Bear wearing a Fez.. I don't even have words for that.. but it's Konohagakure so it probably seemed like a great idea or something something greater good" he says swirling a finger in the air lazily. "So how do you feel about being a grand-daughter for a dithering old fool?" he asks rubbing his chin, knowing this question was probably as awkward as it gets.
"I'm down with that. I can change my appearance, no problem," Yagyu smiled. "I don't really like having to deal with these dudes since they don't know how to quit, but I figure we can do what we can and get out of the game before they get too lit. We ain't gotta save everybody or help in every way, but we were hired to be a part of the solution, so that's what we gonna do." She shrugged. "So, yeah, that bear…I still ain't 'bout to talk about it. I'll save that for another time, but grand-daughter?" She looked at him incredulously. "…I'm cool with that. Let's do this!"
Grim nods "I figured that you could, it's pretty much elementary I'm told for Shinobi" before agreeing with her agreement with his assessment of their targets. "Maybe you can tell me about it over some Sake at the Sandstorm sometime" before shaking his head "Oh right, let me go powder my face" he says standing up and heading out to the washroom being gone several minutes before a frail looking old man wearing Grim's clothes which hang baggy around him. He wanders over to the table with the young nara "Excuse me young lady, have you seen my grand-daughter? She's suppose to be meeting me here, but I think I got lost" he says just taking the seat and picking up the tea glass with a shaky grip "I hear she's quite the troublemaker" say the old man with two hazy eyes.
"Yeah, you go do that, I'mma just sit here and watch everybody like they made me mad for some reason. Some of them probably did…" Yagyu watches one person in particular while they nervously sip their own tea. Grim disappears for the time being and…doesn't come back. Wasn't supposed to, right?! Nope. He had to go 'powder his face', but the person that stepped out of washroom looked like more than a powerder job. Could put a geisha to shame.
"You're lookin' for your grand-daughter? I think I might've seen her around here. Gimme a few moments. I think I saw her not too long ago. You just sit tight." She raises up from the table and heads away to the washroom and comes back with her clothes hugging her a bit more tightly and a tad more revealing. "Grandpa! Where'd you go? I've been looking all over for you!" Yagyu chimed. "So, what kinds of things did you see while lost? Did you have an adventure?" She asked, gesturing for him to come along and follow her to the store just across the way.
Grandpa Grim nods his head "Yes Have you seen her?" before she says that she saw her a moment ago and wanders off before coming back, the long pipe sits on the old man's lip with a curl of smoke wafting upwards. "I was just over there! Talking to that lady" he says pointing to the corner with an broom propped up against the corner. Before being lead to where they were going "Yes! I arm wrestled a manticore in the middle of a heated debate about whether clouds give you hiccups!" before he pauses for a moment "Does your mother know you dress like? I mean your spilling out all over the place, can't you buy clothes that are your size?" he asks as they walk in the door of the store.
Yagyu looked over at the corner with the broom. "Grandpa, that's a broom. I mean, I know you always said grandma was as thin as a broomstick, but I didn't know you /really/ thought that," she tilted her head. "Grandpa, you know my mom pulled a total real life replacement jutsu. I haven't seen her since she walked out on dad when I was little. Last I heard, she was enjoying a good life of making other men happy. But my step-mom doesn't know. Not really. She'd swat at me and shake her finger and talk about how she taught me better than that, yadda yadda…" She made a motion with her hands to indicate yapping. "So, we're just going to keep it that way, 'kay? Besides, I like these clothes. They're exactly my size." She lifted up her bosom and allowed it to drop back in place.
Once they're at the store, she stepped inside and looked around at all the wares that were present. Her eyes immediately went to the clerks and their extra, Inori who was settled in seemingly nice and comfy. "Hello! Welcome to my store. What can I do you for? See anything you like, come talk with me. My associate and I will help you out."
Grandpa Grim rubs the back of his head, "What were we talking about again?" before giving her a squinty judging look as she is all sassy about her clothes. "It's a wonder it doesn't bust a seam" he grumbles before being greeted by the target of their mission. There is a pause as the ~old~ man flips the hat off his head it lands against his back held by strings. "Thank you! Young man" he says dithering his way to the counter, "I am looking to sell some of my old things from the old days. I want to send my grand-daughter to charm school" the last part is whispered with his hand trying to deflect the words from reaching her ears. "Do you buy things as well as sell them? We have been looking all over for someone who wants to buy some antiques rather than sell them" he says bracing himself on the counter. "Misaki get away from those, they look pricey. I am not buying things. I am trying to sell them!" he shakes his head "She's just young and full of ideas, you know how it is" he says with a long draw from the pipe and the smoke escaping from his nostrils.
"See, this is why I hang out with you grandpa. You won't have anything to report back to mom when I get home," Masako beamed in her victory. While grandpa went off to the counter, she busied herself with looking over the store and assessing its layout. There is a small hallway off to the side of the store that leads to a smaller room, though she can't make it out well due to a curtain blocking the way. She picks a random item up off the shelf and looks at it. Just some carving of a koi fish with some gold trim. "Masako! You always get my name wrong! And I'm just /looking/ gosh!" She sets the koi back down. "I understand, sir. What is it you would like to sell today?" The clerk inquires. His partner heads out from behind the desk to go to the backroom momentarily, pushing aside the curtain a small amount that allowed Masako a peek inside, though nothing too discernable. Looks like it's stocked up with items. Inori perks up, thinking that he might be of service today. He'll have to be if he'd like to keep his 'job'. "What are you selling today? Maybe we can work something out?" The clerk continues.
Grandpa Grim glares at Yagyu "Masoka, come over here and show the man what we brought. You didn't lose it did you? I told you hold on to it. It's precious cargo!" before grumbling with a slump of his shoulders "Kids today, it's no wonder they were their clothes so tight it cuts off the circulation to their brains. They'd rather be hanging out with friends and loitering all over the place.." then he turns and shouts "I said not to touch anything Sakiko!" he snorts a little bit of smoke. "What were talking about again?" he says rubbing the back of his head in confusion.
"I didn't lose it! I have it right here!" Masako stomped over with the bag in her hand and fiddled around inside of it. While reaching for the hat, she had a handful of salves and other items that went with grandpa's health. Thankfully, the hat was undamaged. "And it's Masako!" She corrected once again. "This is what we have. It's a hat! But it's not just any hat. This came from the famous bear from the zoo! That wears the vest and stuff! Here, check it out, it's competely real, I swear." She set it on the counter for the clerk to inspect. "From the Ninja Petting Zoo? I know what you're talking about. How did you get the hat, if I can ask?" The clerk checked it over to see if it was legitimate. "Well, one day I was at the zoo, wanting to see one of my favorite animals, the zebra! Anyway, I went to the other attraction for the bear and he was doing a performance, but his hat fell off! I caught it aaaaaaand, I kept it. So, that's how I got it!" She smiled brightly.
"Hmmm, okay. This item is a good find. The bear is very famous. I think we can work something out, but there's one small problem. This hat is probably considered stolen. I don't know if we can—" Masako cut in. "Oh please, oh please, we have to be able to do something with it! Grandpa needs more salves and the stingy medic that makes them wants good money for it," she grumped.
Grandpa Grim glances around like he is not sure of where he is, "Who is Masako? That one of your friends Osmako?" before seeing the hat brings him back to lucidity "Stolen? Are you accusing my grand-daughter of something!?" the smoke rolling from his nostrils as he snorts, "She might not have enough sense to wear clothes in her own size, but she is not a thief! Anyways a bear can't own anything!" he says before drawing several long breaths on the pipe the embers glowing brightly. "I don't need any balms! I told you just rub some dirt in it it'll be fine Misaki!" he says before leaning over looking at the refuse bin filled with various things of flammable nature. "Look what I found!" he says pulling out a broom from the depths of his cloak "ain't she just a beauty, she talks pretty too!" he says growling seductively at the broom.
The clerk puts up his hands. "No, no, I'm not accusing her of stealing anything! She said she found it, so she found it. Who am I to argue?" He inquired. "Grandpa! It's. Ma. Sa. Ko! Masako! And these clothes fit just fine! This is how they're supposed to be!" She countered. "Also, yeah, a bear can't own anything!" She huffed. "You can't argue your way out of this. If we don't get you those balms, you're going to start wondering where they are when you start aching. I don't want to hear it," she wagged a finger.
The clerk looked back and forth between these two patrons and lifted a brow in response to the broom the man found. "Uh, maybe we should start trying to work on the hat now." The clerk's partner comes back out from the back room to see if everything was alright. He heard a bunch of noise, but he was assured that things were fine. "We have a sale to make. These two will be following you to the back." The partner nodded. "We'll get this taken care of shortly. Then you two will be on your way and have the money you need to buy all those balms." The clerk and Inori follow up behind them, mostly to make sure things were secure along the way towards the backroom.
Grandpa Grim "That's what I said! She found it." he says knocking out his hot ashes into the trashcan while he cradles the broom under his arm "Ma. So. Ko? That some confusing teen-speak for drugs or something. Drugs are bad, Kosimaki. Didn't your mother learn you better?!" he says shaking the broom at her before herded into the backroom for their illict deeds to unfold. "Yeah, isn't it a little past time for my salves? My old war wound is acting up" he says using the broom as a cane as they are escorted in the back, it was quite fun to play a such a diverse role.
"Alright, so now we can work out the price for this hat. Let's see…" The partner looks it over and averages a price of about 50,000 ryo. "I told you we'd need your salves. That's what we're here for! And it's Masako. Masako! Masakomasakomasakomasakomasakomasakomasakoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!" She repeated while stomping around in the area, frustrated that her name had been butchered so many times. A fire began to pick up in the trashcan and was assisted by her rage that tipped it over and sent it spreading out. She continued to stomp around, though the fire was picking up some speed by spreading to other items in the backroom. With some of the items in crates, the dryness of them catches the heat and begin to give way to the fire also. The partner reacted quickly. "Fire! Quick, we have to put it out!" He shouts, the clerk jumps into action with him trying to find something to put it out with, but none of them expected to have to deal with something like this. Inori didn't appear too fazed by it. He didn't /want/ to be here, but he admits that he was pretty useful. As far as he's concerned, this place can burn.
Thankfully, though the guys running the place didn't have any immediate solution for their problem, the building had one of its own. An automatic lockdown! How fun! Any open areas, vents aside, were sealed off and couldn't be opened to prevent further spreading! "We're trapped!" Inori took note of their situation. "We hafta get outta here!" He took off down the hall only to return back to the room. "But there ain't no way out!"
Masako came up out of her stomping fit to realize their dire situation. "…Well duh! You mentioned that before! Still, we gotta find a way outta here somehow! Grandpa, watch out your broom!" She pointed out how the bristles were starting to catch fire.
Grandpa Grim shakes the broom exclaiming "Shoo,shoo,shoo,shoo!" when he waves it out all that is left is just the wooden stave without the broom end. "You bought my walking stick! Good work Misaki" he saying giving her thumbs up "But I think you burnt the lunch, you left the fish in the fire too long!" he says before looking around "You should come with us, young man. It's too hot in here for us old timers.." he turns around finding that there is a door in his way. "Mimiko, who put a door here?" he asks rubbing the back of his head looking confused for a moment. "I'm hungry" he says.
Clad in his gear, Malik aka Birdguy heard the klaxons sound off in the building he was currently on top of. This was his signal to act. Having discreetly cut a hole in the skylight, he bends down and makes sure the rope was secured to his feet and the other end secured firmly to the roof itself. While Grim and Yagyu acquired the target, he was responsible for their exit strategy. He turns to his falcon Sinbad and says, "Keep an eye out up here. Let me know if anyone comes." The bird gives him a mock salute and then goes back to preening his feathers.
Pulling his hood up and attaching his mask to his face, Malik kicks out the window and then brings out his bow, selecting an arrow from his quiver before he swan dives through the opening. On the way down, his eyes track the two merchants as he releases one of his flash bang arrows towards the center of where they stand. "Hey, your ride is here." He comments to Grim and Yagyu.
"MASAKO!" The grand-daughter corrected for the umteenth time. "And the door was always there! Well, not this particular door, but it was a doorway at one point…" She shrugged. "Anyway, Grandpa! The manticore is back and its mad because it has hiccups and didn't believe you about tuesday! There it is over there!" She pointed at the clerk and his partner who were attempting to deal with the flames. "It was the /real/ reason this place is on fire! I didn't burn the lunch, I swear!" Inori wasn't sure to follow Grandpa Grim or not, but considering the family had some sort of grasp on reality, he decided to give it a chance.
His mild confidence ended up shot just a tad as the ceiling was kicked in and glass hit the floor. He avoided it by finding a corner to take refuge in while the clerks busied themselves with trying to recover from the flashing arrows they just experienced. "It's Birdguy! He's come to save the day and stuff! Such a hero! I never thought I'd meet him!"
Grandpa Grim rubs the back of his head, "I already told that manticore once!" before charging into the triad clerk "Taste finger knuckles! You burnt the lunch! Grandpa-Punch!" he says sending a purple with orange highlights fiery like punch which explodes outward like cone. Before he looks up seeing the glass fall down around him bouncing off his cloak "Eeek! A Tengu! Hide your cucumber" he says looking back to the two that he has engaged with, in his usual unusual manner.
Malik inclines his head towards Masako. "Don't worry, Ma'am. I'm here to help get you out." Keeping up appearances, he moves towards Inori and Grandpa Grim. "You guys follow me out. That manticore is in the building somewhere..I.." He moves as if something startled him and rapid fires an arrow through the doorway that was just blown off it's hinges. He coughs. "Whoops. That guy startled me. Sorry."
"That's a kappa!" Masako continued to correct her grandpa. She seemed used to it, though. As long as he forgot things, she didn't have anything to worry about when she had to return home to mom. Besides, all her and grandpa ever do is hangout, anyhow. That's /all/ she needed to know. "What? We haven't done any—OOF!" The clerk goes down, carrying his buddy with him. They couldn't see a thing since they were still recovering from the flash and the brightness of the building fires certainly weren't helping. Smoke was starting to build in the area and grow thicker. It wasn't black, but it was going to be soon enough. Inori looked at the barrage of arrows that went flying by and taking the door off the hinges. He thinks he can appreciate the act in some form as it can help to deviate some of this thickening air, but at the same time, if the rest of the shop wasn't closed off, he's certain the flames would've grown even stronger. "Please, Birdguy! Help us outta here!" He heads over to him and latches on tight. "I'm ready t'go!"
Masako pointed out to Grandpa Grim saying, "Get my grandpa outta here! I can go next!" Besides, she has to do a good thing and save these triad guys from the fire. Wouldn't do well to have 'em burn up in here…
"What's a Kappa? This guy?" Grandpa Grim says pointing to other clerk? "Do not munch on my lunch! Cucumber-punch!" he shouts as he attempts a repeat of the heliotropic punch. "You want me to go with the Tengu? Don't you love me my precious granddaughter Kisamiko?" he says with a fake frown before sighing "Alright but if you take me to the afterlife, I'm not going to share the secrets to perfect sashimi" he says with a huff crossing his arms across his chest as he moves over to the masked-man Malik.
Malik leads the small group over to the rope that's dangling from the roof. He says to Inori. "Hold on tight, and don't let go." He looks over at Masako. "I'll be back for your grandfather." With the elder man on his back, he begins to climb back up the rope to the roof. He grunts as he thinks to himself. 'I better get a good cut from the profits of this job."
"MAAASAAAKOOOO!" She shouted once again. "And no, I don't want you to go with the Tengu or the Kappa. You're going to be fine, I promise. Right now, our problem is this fire! Birdguy blew off a door and now we have some breathing room!" She offered a thumbs up to Malik and a huge smile. Inside, Yagyu was struggling to maintain this act and her henge at the same time and had all sorts of daggers and sharp weapons planned for Grim. In fact, she was gonna use his /own/ weapon against him. Yep, a big club right against his ******* powdered face! And body! And limbs! And everywhere else! The ground he walks on will be destroyed!
Inori has been secured and taken up to the roof, but with their shop in trouble, more triad members begin to show up and lo and behold, Birdguy just so happens to look like the biggest hero here. A shinobi of the hidden sand. They should've known they'd be behind this! Time to give him a hard time. They proceed to draw their weapons and advance up the building to the roof to take the fight to him, some already throwing weapons up to top to make sure he knows they're here and ready to bring the pain. "Okay grandpa, Birdguy will be coming back for us soon. I have the hat cause we won't be able to sell it today, but maybe some other time! Right now, we gotta make like a banana peel and slip out of here!"
Grandpa Grim grumbles for a moment kicking at the ground, "I don't need the tengu's help! I'm capable.. back in my day you had to climb up the hill both-ways just to get to the next hill that you actually needed to climb in the first place!" he snorts grabbing the rope, it wasn't really needed to keep up the act with no one around but it was entirely fun at his own expense. He leaps onto the rope before dropping off for a second picking up the broom "I'll save you ma'am!" he says hurling the broom like the missile out the open window trying to hit one of the rooftop assailants before scurrying up the rope on his own to help out Birdguy. "You'll have to find your own way, Masaku!" as he is going up the rope.
Sometimes it sucked to be him. Yagyu was probably giggling on the inside as the Triad threw things up towards him on the roof. Malik says as he motions for his charge to find a shady spot and stay there. "Sinbad, slow them down a bit." The falcon flies off his perch and begins to dive bomb the guys climbing up on the roof. Maybe some will fall off, who knows? In the meantime as old man Grim makes it up the rope he says, "This will get bad in a hurry. Tell your grandaughter to get her butt up here quick!" Using tree walk, he perches on the side of the building to fire off arrows at some of the Triad still climbing up.
"Things aren't like that anymore, grandpa! You don't have to make everything so difficult!" Masako states while the fire raged on around them. Thanks to the grandpa-punch and subsequent cucumber-punch, the clerks were absolutely down for the count. Still, they could be rescued, Yagyu supposes. She didn't want to, but uuuugh. When she turns around to face Grandpa Grim, all she sees is a blur going up the rope and a shout from some poor sap that got struck by his lady broom.
Yet, that isn't what gets her heated. No, her rage has finally reached its peak and the combination of this role, the fire, Grim and the new attackers on the roof manages to set her blood boiling. Yet, the only thing that turns it to steam is her wrong name. It's not Masaku… "IT's. MASAAAKOOOOOOOOOO!" She shouted and jumped up through the opening and onto the roof, landing atop an unwary Triad goon. "MASAKO!" She shouts again as she winds her fist up and punches another Triad member hard enough to send him stumbling back and off the roof of the burning shop. Her henge is broken in the moment and while she calms down, she realizes she's exposed and quickly fixes the problem by drawing up her hat to cover her features.
Members are steadily being pecked off by Sinbad, keeping the numbers on the roof manageable. Yagyu, now no longer Masako or Misaki, Masaku, Kisamoko or any other **** name in the book, engages further members, slipping underneath and over, bobbing side to side and laying into them with combos made to keep them down. "If we stay up here any longer, this roof might cave in!"
Grandpa Grim spins around flexing his scrawny arms before they grossly pop and explode in a mass of musclely flexing muscles "I feel several years younger! Like in the war!" he says with a seemingly renewed vigor. "Who wants some fist knuckles?!" he shouts running at the first person he saw giving them a punch to remember with newly minted muscly arms. "Heart-Breaker!" he shouts with flex "That's what they called your grandpa back in the day. Probably because of all the caved in ribcages but I tend to substitute my good looks were the cause instead of my fists" he says punching another minion with zeal.
Malik quickly forms handseals before gripping his bow and notching another arrow. The jutsu he cast should bind the limbs of several of the Triad that has made it up to the roof. He fires another arrow, a net springing out of it just before impact. For the moment, he's usuing non lethal techniques, but that can change in a heart-beat if the call was made. Sinbad continues to swoop down low and dive bomb with his sharp talons and his beak. Trying to draw blood.
Yagyu wanted to respond to Grim badly, but she couldn't let herself out just yet. It'd break her character too much. At the least, she could still get away with how she was at the moment. "Again, that was a long time ago Grandpa. Don't overdo it because I'm not going to have any of it when you start complaining about hurting again!" She sighed and rolled her eyes at his antics. "Well now, you're a Jaw-Breaker! So, you keep doing that! I'll just be over here, protecting our hat that we never sold!" AND NEVER WILL. THIS IS YAGYU'S HAT!
Triad members are getting tossed, probably more than they were supposed to be. Yagyu is pretty sure some are dead, but circumstances demanded that some blood be spilled due to how things turned out, so they're acceptable losses. So long as they don't realize who they are, they're fine. Besides, Birdguy is the defender of the night and day in these parts. Preeeety sure he's gonna have a bounty soon.
Super Grandpa Grim is in the middle of flex when a Triad member strikes him right in the chest with a violent slash, he raises an eyebrow looking down before dusting off his chest. "You are going to actually have to try a little harder, I swear you kids wouldn't know effort if it bite you in the turnips." he ducks under the sword grasping the swordsman by the leg in a grip that is like a steel trap snapping shut, before he lifts the leg and grasps the swordman around the neck flipping his body backward slamming the head/neck of his prey into the unforgiving roof. "Wait wait.. hold everything.. I forgot to shout the name of the attack before doing it, can we do it over?" he says getting to his feet to the guy who was in no condition to respond "Oh no? That's okay with you? Alright.. I'll try harder next time" he says side stepping a giant rock, a club or something that was hurled at him. "You could put someones eye young man!" he scolds before dithering his way over to the next batch of angry triads. "Who's next? Take your turn, don't shove. I'm not as spry as I once was" he says stretching with a hand on his lower back. "I'll be fine Misinko! I feel 30 years younger.." he says over his shoulder before adding "Have you seen my walking stick?" he asks.
As new Triad members take the place of the vanquished ones the attacks come towards Malik and he defends the only way he knows how. Dodging. He flips a few times, causing their projectiles to miss before he withdraws just plain old arrows and starts aiming for knee caps and shoulder joints. Nothing life threatening…but it would hurt enough to where they might not want to fight anymore. This also displays his knowledge of the human body, especially knowing how to hurt someone. "It's getting crowded up here. We need to change locations. Like right now."
"MASAKO! I want to hear you say it! Masako!" Yagyu called out, maintaining her character despite her current circumstances. "And yeah, your walking stick is right here!" She picked it up and threw it at Grandpa Grim with all the saltiness she could manage. Yeah, she wanted to find a way to get back at him somehow and this seemed like a small opportunity. "Catch!" She shouted, though she secretly, really, really hoped he didn't.
"This place is going to go down fast. We should just leave! Head down and get Inari—err, Inori to safety!" Great, now she's mixing up names. "Birdguy! I heard you have a tool belt that helps you do /everything/. Could you use one of your super duper tools to help us escape! Grandpa needs to get home and have his salves before he gets mad at me!" He better hope he has a tool for this situation, cause she's about to throttle him too.
There is suddenly a salt-laden stick burrowing in the back of his head, Super Grandpa Grim leans over rubbing the back of his head picking up the stick as a sword swipe that was aimed for him whooshes over his head. "Owwww! Koumasu! That hurt!" he says leaning back up looking at the swordsman in front of him. "Aren't you just a eager little wolf pup but you shouldn't bare your fangs if you just plan on barking" he chides him shaking a finger before balling his fist up in the purple explosion of orange fury "Heart-breaker!" he says aiming the blow for the triads chest before a pelt of blows hit him as he dodges, backpeddles or just takes the hit before backpeddling to where the others are gathered. "Yeah Bow-Boy do something useful with that new-finagled razzamatazz," before nodding to his faux granddaughter. "What'd you say Masaka?" he asks leaning on the stave.
Malik dodges a swipe from a club before he hauls Inori up to his feet. "Hold onto me." He withdraws more rope from his pack and ties it to the end of an arrow. He then takes aim and shoots it into the side of another building. Spikes shoot out of the arrow head, giving it more stability as he tests it briefly. "This is our way out. I suggest you move quickly, cause I'm going to cut it right after you guys swing across so we're not followed." And with that, he's gone over the side. He releases the rope and then uses tree walking to run down the side of the opposite building until he reaches the ground.
"Sorry! And it's /still/ Masako!!" Yagyu's fist balled up, but instead of laying it into Grandpa Grim, she took it out on the nearest Triad member. "How did you even get that close and /still/ mess it up?! I think you're doing it on purpose!" She huffed.
With their golden opportunity just a rope away, Yagyu takes the moment to head off and run towards it only to remember one final thing. 'Son of a ****…' she thought to herself. Have to get those clerks out. She went over to the hole and attempted to ascertain where they were. She's sure they'd take some burns, but if she gets them out now, they might live. Might. She focuses her shadow down into the building and feels around until it wraps around their bodies. She then pulls them up and onto the roof. They were in bad shape, but a medic should be able to get them together. That done, she runs off and clears the way of any Triads still looking to attack her. "Grandpa, come on! And grab old guy too!" She pointed out Inori while she headed for the rope once more. "You can't sit here all day and pummel people to death with your finger knuckles! Those are going to be hurting too!" She complained.
Try as they may, the Triad members weren't able to catch up to them. The rope was cut and those on it were sent tumbling. The rest had to clear the building before it all went down. Besides, the authorities were here and they didn't want to be around to talk with them. Good news is that the burning building shouldn't leave a trace of their activities. The bad news is that a lot of valuables were lost to it…
Inori, once safely outside of Rakuen, was explained the situation and given instructions of what to do upon returning to Suna. He'd be sent on his way from the Scoop towards the village. Yagyu watched him until he was outside of her sight and then she set her sights on Grim. "GRIIIIM!" She shouted at the top of her lungs while stomping over his way. What will happen to him? Stay tuned for next time! (Birdguy might be glad, at least this time, that he's not the target of her rage.)
Back to the main city where the Scorpion Squad was sent to handle another issue. Information had finally led up to a lead in a missing persons case. The Triad hadn't truly left the city, just repositioned themselves elsewhere. This time, in the merchant district. They set up a shop that looked to be normal, but in its shadier deals, worked with stolen items and other forms of illegal business. Only one missing person has been identified to be in their grasp here, so the deal is to extract them.
"So, we finally got some real work on our hands. Triad been quiet, but now they startin' to get a little loud. Now that we know where they are, we can get in and do what we gotta do. As far as I know, all we need to do is just grab the person and bounce. We don't need no extra fuss, especially after what happened at the silk factory. If we run into issues, though, we have the permission to use force, lethal if necessary. We already interruptin' their stuff, so I know they ain't gonna like it, but whatever," Yagyu explained to Grim. She'd decided to discuss these things over tea at a small shop in the area. "Person we're lookin' for is an old guy named Uta Inori."
Grim sitting at the table looking about as out of place as burly battle-scarred mercenary can sitting in a small tea shop sipping tea. "So a covert extraction? In hostile locations with the odds stacked heavily against us." he pauses for a moment to sip some tea "It's almost unfair for them. So Uta Inori, what do we know if anything about this ~old~ man" he says quoting the old part especially since it's coming from someone half his own age. "Let me guess, he's in the furthest back room surrounded by inpenetrable defense's. Otherwise they would just send the my first mission shinobi squadrons instead right?" he says with a sneer.
"No, he's been used for his knowledge of rare goods. They keep him up close so that he can assess what comes through the shop and give a value to them that they can profit from," Yagyu explains to Grim. "So, he ain't too far and ain't even out of sight, but trying to get to him will still be tough. They keep around him at all times. So, we'll have to find a moment when we catch the group slippin', then we move in, take him and head off. Hopefully, without any problems, but if we do have some, then we 'bout to throw down."
Grim nods "An appraisal, I see." taking a sip of his tea "So we need a distraction or misdirection? Can't we just kick in the door, you use some of that shadow sorcery we snag the guy then run out?" he says scratching his chin before sighing "If only it was that easy, since you have been scouting out the situation you got any input?" he was formulating some possibilities, "We could pose as sellers, I'm sure we have some things laying around we can pretend is worth something more than the dust it's been collecting. That would get us in the door, but not much else" he says grumbling to himself before trying to silence it with another sip of tea.
"That'll work," Yagyu nodded as she drank the last of her tea. "I don't know how much of a face we have at this point or if anyone recognizes us. We did cover ourselves up last time, so I think we're okay at this point," she hummed. "I might have to change up the way I talk, cause I know that's a dead giveaway," she folded her arms and grumbled to herself. She liked talking that way. "I got somethin' we can use…" She reached into a satchel and pulled out a fez hat. "I swiped this off a bear that thought he was about to have a beef with me, but he thought wrong. I was with some Konoha peeps at the time and…I don't really wanna talk about that part," she rolled her eyes. "Anyway! I got this hat and the bear is safe. We can use this for our distraction. It /ain't/ bein' sold, though."
There is a long silence with only the sound of Grim breathing deep while in thought, "We should take all the precautions against our identities being known, if we are going to continually be facing off against them, it would behoove us to not being hunted down in our everyday life. I'm thinking a little stage makeup, sounds like we need an old man peddling some goods." before he deadpans at the younger nara "A Bear wearing a Fez.. I don't even have words for that.. but it's Konohagakure so it probably seemed like a great idea or something something greater good" he says swirling a finger in the air lazily. "So how do you feel about being a grand-daughter for a dithering old fool?" he asks rubbing his chin, knowing this question was probably as awkward as it gets.
"I'm down with that. I can change my appearance, no problem," Yagyu smiled. "I don't really like having to deal with these dudes since they don't know how to quit, but I figure we can do what we can and get out of the game before they get too lit. We ain't gotta save everybody or help in every way, but we were hired to be a part of the solution, so that's what we gonna do." She shrugged. "So, yeah, that bear…I still ain't 'bout to talk about it. I'll save that for another time, but grand-daughter?" She looked at him incredulously. "…I'm cool with that. Let's do this!"
Grim nods "I figured that you could, it's pretty much elementary I'm told for Shinobi" before agreeing with her agreement with his assessment of their targets. "Maybe you can tell me about it over some Sake at the Sandstorm sometime" before shaking his head "Oh right, let me go powder my face" he says standing up and heading out to the washroom being gone several minutes before a frail looking old man wearing Grim's clothes which hang baggy around him. He wanders over to the table with the young nara "Excuse me young lady, have you seen my grand-daughter? She's suppose to be meeting me here, but I think I got lost" he says just taking the seat and picking up the tea glass with a shaky grip "I hear she's quite the troublemaker" say the old man with two hazy eyes.
"Yeah, you go do that, I'mma just sit here and watch everybody like they made me mad for some reason. Some of them probably did…" Yagyu watches one person in particular while they nervously sip their own tea. Grim disappears for the time being and…doesn't come back. Wasn't supposed to, right?! Nope. He had to go 'powder his face', but the person that stepped out of washroom looked like more than a powerder job. Could put a geisha to shame.
"You're lookin' for your grand-daughter? I think I might've seen her around here. Gimme a few moments. I think I saw her not too long ago. You just sit tight." She raises up from the table and heads away to the washroom and comes back with her clothes hugging her a bit more tightly and a tad more revealing. "Grandpa! Where'd you go? I've been looking all over for you!" Yagyu chimed. "So, what kinds of things did you see while lost? Did you have an adventure?" She asked, gesturing for him to come along and follow her to the store just across the way.
Grandpa Grim nods his head "Yes Have you seen her?" before she says that she saw her a moment ago and wanders off before coming back, the long pipe sits on the old man's lip with a curl of smoke wafting upwards. "I was just over there! Talking to that lady" he says pointing to the corner with an broom propped up against the corner. Before being lead to where they were going "Yes! I arm wrestled a manticore in the middle of a heated debate about whether clouds give you hiccups!" before he pauses for a moment "Does your mother know you dress like? I mean your spilling out all over the place, can't you buy clothes that are your size?" he asks as they walk in the door of the store.
Yagyu looked over at the corner with the broom. "Grandpa, that's a broom. I mean, I know you always said grandma was as thin as a broomstick, but I didn't know you /really/ thought that," she tilted her head. "Grandpa, you know my mom pulled a total real life replacement jutsu. I haven't seen her since she walked out on dad when I was little. Last I heard, she was enjoying a good life of making other men happy. But my step-mom doesn't know. Not really. She'd swat at me and shake her finger and talk about how she taught me better than that, yadda yadda…" She made a motion with her hands to indicate yapping. "So, we're just going to keep it that way, 'kay? Besides, I like these clothes. They're exactly my size." She lifted up her bosom and allowed it to drop back in place.
Once they're at the store, she stepped inside and looked around at all the wares that were present. Her eyes immediately went to the clerks and their extra, Inori who was settled in seemingly nice and comfy. "Hello! Welcome to my store. What can I do you for? See anything you like, come talk with me. My associate and I will help you out."
Grandpa Grim rubs the back of his head, "What were we talking about again?" before giving her a squinty judging look as she is all sassy about her clothes. "It's a wonder it doesn't bust a seam" he grumbles before being greeted by the target of their mission. There is a pause as the ~old~ man flips the hat off his head it lands against his back held by strings. "Thank you! Young man" he says dithering his way to the counter, "I am looking to sell some of my old things from the old days. I want to send my grand-daughter to charm school" the last part is whispered with his hand trying to deflect the words from reaching her ears. "Do you buy things as well as sell them? We have been looking all over for someone who wants to buy some antiques rather than sell them" he says bracing himself on the counter. "Misaki get away from those, they look pricey. I am not buying things. I am trying to sell them!" he shakes his head "She's just young and full of ideas, you know how it is" he says with a long draw from the pipe and the smoke escaping from his nostrils.
"See, this is why I hang out with you grandpa. You won't have anything to report back to mom when I get home," Masako beamed in her victory. While grandpa went off to the counter, she busied herself with looking over the store and assessing its layout. There is a small hallway off to the side of the store that leads to a smaller room, though she can't make it out well due to a curtain blocking the way. She picks a random item up off the shelf and looks at it. Just some carving of a koi fish with some gold trim. "Masako! You always get my name wrong! And I'm just /looking/ gosh!" She sets the koi back down. "I understand, sir. What is it you would like to sell today?" The clerk inquires. His partner heads out from behind the desk to go to the backroom momentarily, pushing aside the curtain a small amount that allowed Masako a peek inside, though nothing too discernable. Looks like it's stocked up with items. Inori perks up, thinking that he might be of service today. He'll have to be if he'd like to keep his 'job'. "What are you selling today? Maybe we can work something out?" The clerk continues.
Grandpa Grim glares at Yagyu "Masoka, come over here and show the man what we brought. You didn't lose it did you? I told you hold on to it. It's precious cargo!" before grumbling with a slump of his shoulders "Kids today, it's no wonder they were their clothes so tight it cuts off the circulation to their brains. They'd rather be hanging out with friends and loitering all over the place.." then he turns and shouts "I said not to touch anything Sakiko!" he snorts a little bit of smoke. "What were talking about again?" he says rubbing the back of his head in confusion.
"I didn't lose it! I have it right here!" Masako stomped over with the bag in her hand and fiddled around inside of it. While reaching for the hat, she had a handful of salves and other items that went with grandpa's health. Thankfully, the hat was undamaged. "And it's Masako!" She corrected once again. "This is what we have. It's a hat! But it's not just any hat. This came from the famous bear from the zoo! That wears the vest and stuff! Here, check it out, it's competely real, I swear." She set it on the counter for the clerk to inspect. "From the Ninja Petting Zoo? I know what you're talking about. How did you get the hat, if I can ask?" The clerk checked it over to see if it was legitimate. "Well, one day I was at the zoo, wanting to see one of my favorite animals, the zebra! Anyway, I went to the other attraction for the bear and he was doing a performance, but his hat fell off! I caught it aaaaaaand, I kept it. So, that's how I got it!" She smiled brightly.
"Hmmm, okay. This item is a good find. The bear is very famous. I think we can work something out, but there's one small problem. This hat is probably considered stolen. I don't know if we can—" Masako cut in. "Oh please, oh please, we have to be able to do something with it! Grandpa needs more salves and the stingy medic that makes them wants good money for it," she grumped.
Grandpa Grim glances around like he is not sure of where he is, "Who is Masako? That one of your friends Osmako?" before seeing the hat brings him back to lucidity "Stolen? Are you accusing my grand-daughter of something!?" the smoke rolling from his nostrils as he snorts, "She might not have enough sense to wear clothes in her own size, but she is not a thief! Anyways a bear can't own anything!" he says before drawing several long breaths on the pipe the embers glowing brightly. "I don't need any balms! I told you just rub some dirt in it it'll be fine Misaki!" he says before leaning over looking at the refuse bin filled with various things of flammable nature. "Look what I found!" he says pulling out a broom from the depths of his cloak "ain't she just a beauty, she talks pretty too!" he says growling seductively at the broom.
The clerk puts up his hands. "No, no, I'm not accusing her of stealing anything! She said she found it, so she found it. Who am I to argue?" He inquired. "Grandpa! It's. Ma. Sa. Ko! Masako! And these clothes fit just fine! This is how they're supposed to be!" She countered. "Also, yeah, a bear can't own anything!" She huffed. "You can't argue your way out of this. If we don't get you those balms, you're going to start wondering where they are when you start aching. I don't want to hear it," she wagged a finger.
The clerk looked back and forth between these two patrons and lifted a brow in response to the broom the man found. "Uh, maybe we should start trying to work on the hat now." The clerk's partner comes back out from the back room to see if everything was alright. He heard a bunch of noise, but he was assured that things were fine. "We have a sale to make. These two will be following you to the back." The partner nodded. "We'll get this taken care of shortly. Then you two will be on your way and have the money you need to buy all those balms." The clerk and Inori follow up behind them, mostly to make sure things were secure along the way towards the backroom.
Grandpa Grim "That's what I said! She found it." he says knocking out his hot ashes into the trashcan while he cradles the broom under his arm "Ma. So. Ko? That some confusing teen-speak for drugs or something. Drugs are bad, Kosimaki. Didn't your mother learn you better?!" he says shaking the broom at her before herded into the backroom for their illict deeds to unfold. "Yeah, isn't it a little past time for my salves? My old war wound is acting up" he says using the broom as a cane as they are escorted in the back, it was quite fun to play a such a diverse role.
"Alright, so now we can work out the price for this hat. Let's see…" The partner looks it over and averages a price of about 50,000 ryo. "I told you we'd need your salves. That's what we're here for! And it's Masako. Masako! Masakomasakomasakomasakomasakomasakomasakoooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!" She repeated while stomping around in the area, frustrated that her name had been butchered so many times. A fire began to pick up in the trashcan and was assisted by her rage that tipped it over and sent it spreading out. She continued to stomp around, though the fire was picking up some speed by spreading to other items in the backroom. With some of the items in crates, the dryness of them catches the heat and begin to give way to the fire also. The partner reacted quickly. "Fire! Quick, we have to put it out!" He shouts, the clerk jumps into action with him trying to find something to put it out with, but none of them expected to have to deal with something like this. Inori didn't appear too fazed by it. He didn't /want/ to be here, but he admits that he was pretty useful. As far as he's concerned, this place can burn.
Thankfully, though the guys running the place didn't have any immediate solution for their problem, the building had one of its own. An automatic lockdown! How fun! Any open areas, vents aside, were sealed off and couldn't be opened to prevent further spreading! "We're trapped!" Inori took note of their situation. "We hafta get outta here!" He took off down the hall only to return back to the room. "But there ain't no way out!"
Masako came up out of her stomping fit to realize their dire situation. "…Well duh! You mentioned that before! Still, we gotta find a way outta here somehow! Grandpa, watch out your broom!" She pointed out how the bristles were starting to catch fire.
Grandpa Grim shakes the broom exclaiming "Shoo,shoo,shoo,shoo!" when he waves it out all that is left is just the wooden stave without the broom end. "You bought my walking stick! Good work Misaki" he saying giving her thumbs up "But I think you burnt the lunch, you left the fish in the fire too long!" he says before looking around "You should come with us, young man. It's too hot in here for us old timers.." he turns around finding that there is a door in his way. "Mimiko, who put a door here?" he asks rubbing the back of his head looking confused for a moment. "I'm hungry" he says.
Clad in his gear, Malik aka Birdguy heard the klaxons sound off in the building he was currently on top of. This was his signal to act. Having discreetly cut a hole in the skylight, he bends down and makes sure the rope was secured to his feet and the other end secured firmly to the roof itself. While Grim and Yagyu acquired the target, he was responsible for their exit strategy. He turns to his falcon Sinbad and says, "Keep an eye out up here. Let me know if anyone comes." The bird gives him a mock salute and then goes back to preening his feathers.
Pulling his hood up and attaching his mask to his face, Malik kicks out the window and then brings out his bow, selecting an arrow from his quiver before he swan dives through the opening. On the way down, his eyes track the two merchants as he releases one of his flash bang arrows towards the center of where they stand. "Hey, your ride is here." He comments to Grim and Yagyu.
"MASAKO!" The grand-daughter corrected for the umteenth time. "And the door was always there! Well, not this particular door, but it was a doorway at one point…" She shrugged. "Anyway, Grandpa! The manticore is back and its mad because it has hiccups and didn't believe you about tuesday! There it is over there!" She pointed at the clerk and his partner who were attempting to deal with the flames. "It was the /real/ reason this place is on fire! I didn't burn the lunch, I swear!" Inori wasn't sure to follow Grandpa Grim or not, but considering the family had some sort of grasp on reality, he decided to give it a chance.
His mild confidence ended up shot just a tad as the ceiling was kicked in and glass hit the floor. He avoided it by finding a corner to take refuge in while the clerks busied themselves with trying to recover from the flashing arrows they just experienced. "It's Birdguy! He's come to save the day and stuff! Such a hero! I never thought I'd meet him!"
Grandpa Grim rubs the back of his head, "I already told that manticore once!" before charging into the triad clerk "Taste finger knuckles! You burnt the lunch! Grandpa-Punch!" he says sending a purple with orange highlights fiery like punch which explodes outward like cone. Before he looks up seeing the glass fall down around him bouncing off his cloak "Eeek! A Tengu! Hide your cucumber" he says looking back to the two that he has engaged with, in his usual unusual manner.
Malik inclines his head towards Masako. "Don't worry, Ma'am. I'm here to help get you out." Keeping up appearances, he moves towards Inori and Grandpa Grim. "You guys follow me out. That manticore is in the building somewhere..I.." He moves as if something startled him and rapid fires an arrow through the doorway that was just blown off it's hinges. He coughs. "Whoops. That guy startled me. Sorry."
"That's a kappa!" Masako continued to correct her grandpa. She seemed used to it, though. As long as he forgot things, she didn't have anything to worry about when she had to return home to mom. Besides, all her and grandpa ever do is hangout, anyhow. That's /all/ she needed to know. "What? We haven't done any—OOF!" The clerk goes down, carrying his buddy with him. They couldn't see a thing since they were still recovering from the flash and the brightness of the building fires certainly weren't helping. Smoke was starting to build in the area and grow thicker. It wasn't black, but it was going to be soon enough. Inori looked at the barrage of arrows that went flying by and taking the door off the hinges. He thinks he can appreciate the act in some form as it can help to deviate some of this thickening air, but at the same time, if the rest of the shop wasn't closed off, he's certain the flames would've grown even stronger. "Please, Birdguy! Help us outta here!" He heads over to him and latches on tight. "I'm ready t'go!"
Masako pointed out to Grandpa Grim saying, "Get my grandpa outta here! I can go next!" Besides, she has to do a good thing and save these triad guys from the fire. Wouldn't do well to have 'em burn up in here…
"What's a Kappa? This guy?" Grandpa Grim says pointing to other clerk? "Do not munch on my lunch! Cucumber-punch!" he shouts as he attempts a repeat of the heliotropic punch. "You want me to go with the Tengu? Don't you love me my precious granddaughter Kisamiko?" he says with a fake frown before sighing "Alright but if you take me to the afterlife, I'm not going to share the secrets to perfect sashimi" he says with a huff crossing his arms across his chest as he moves over to the masked-man Malik.
Malik leads the small group over to the rope that's dangling from the roof. He says to Inori. "Hold on tight, and don't let go." He looks over at Masako. "I'll be back for your grandfather." With the elder man on his back, he begins to climb back up the rope to the roof. He grunts as he thinks to himself. 'I better get a good cut from the profits of this job."
"MAAASAAAKOOOO!" She shouted once again. "And no, I don't want you to go with the Tengu or the Kappa. You're going to be fine, I promise. Right now, our problem is this fire! Birdguy blew off a door and now we have some breathing room!" She offered a thumbs up to Malik and a huge smile. Inside, Yagyu was struggling to maintain this act and her henge at the same time and had all sorts of daggers and sharp weapons planned for Grim. In fact, she was gonna use his /own/ weapon against him. Yep, a big club right against his **** powdered face! And body! And limbs! And everywhere else! The ground he walks on will be destroyed!
Inori has been secured and taken up to the roof, but with their shop in trouble, more triad members begin to show up and lo and behold, Birdguy just so happens to look like the biggest hero here. A shinobi of the hidden sand. They should've known they'd be behind this! Time to give him a hard time. They proceed to draw their weapons and advance up the building to the roof to take the fight to him, some already throwing weapons up to top to make sure he knows they're here and ready to bring the pain. "Okay grandpa, Birdguy will be coming back for us soon. I have the hat cause we won't be able to sell it today, but maybe some other time! Right now, we gotta make like a banana peel and slip out of here!"
Grandpa Grim grumbles for a moment kicking at the ground, "I don't need the tengu's help! I'm capable.. back in my day you had to climb up the hill both-ways just to get to the next hill that you actually needed to climb in the first place!" he snorts grabbing the rope, it wasn't really needed to keep up the act with no one around but it was entirely fun at his own expense. He leaps onto the rope before dropping off for a second picking up the broom "I'll save you ma'am!" he says hurling the broom like the missile out the open window trying to hit one of the rooftop assailants before scurrying up the rope on his own to help out Birdguy. "You'll have to find your own way, Masaku!" as he is going up the rope.
Sometimes it **** to be him. Yagyu was probably giggling on the inside as the Triad threw things up towards him on the roof. Malik says as he motions for his charge to find a shady spot and stay there. "Sinbad, slow them down a bit." The falcon flies off his perch and begins to dive bomb the guys climbing up on the roof. Maybe some will fall off, who knows? In the meantime as old man Grim makes it up the rope he says, "This will get bad in a hurry. Tell your grandaughter to get her butt up here quick!" Using tree walk, he perches on the side of the building to fire off arrows at some of the Triad still climbing up.
"Things aren't like that anymore, grandpa! You don't have to make everything so difficult!" Masako states while the fire raged on around them. Thanks to the grandpa-punch and subsequent cucumber-punch, the clerks were absolutely down for the count. Still, they could be rescued, Yagyu supposes. She didn't want to, but uuuugh. When she turns around to face Grandpa Grim, all she sees is a blur going up the rope and a shout from some poor sap that got struck by his lady broom.
Yet, that isn't what gets her heated. No, her rage has finally reached its peak and the combination of this role, the fire, Grim and the new attackers on the roof manages to set her blood boiling. Yet, the only thing that turns it to steam is her wrong name. It's not Masaku… "IT's. MASAAAKOOOOOOOOOO!" She shouted and jumped up through the opening and onto the roof, landing atop an unwary Triad goon. "MASAKO!" She shouts again as she winds her fist up and punches another Triad member hard enough to send him stumbling back and off the roof of the burning shop. Her henge is broken in the moment and while she calms down, she realizes she's exposed and quickly fixes the problem by drawing up her hat to cover her features.
Members are steadily being pecked off by Sinbad, keeping the numbers on the roof manageable. Yagyu, now no longer Masako or Misaki, Masaku, Kisamoko or any other **** name in the book, engages further members, slipping underneath and over, bobbing side to side and laying into them with combos made to keep them down. "If we stay up here any longer, this roof might cave in!"
Grandpa Grim spins around flexing his scrawny arms before they grossly pop and explode in a mass of musclely flexing muscles "I feel several years younger! Like in the war!" he says with a seemingly renewed vigor. "Who wants some fist knuckles?!" he shouts running at the first person he saw giving them a punch to remember with newly minted muscly arms. "Heart-Breaker!" he shouts with flex "That's what they called your grandpa back in the day. Probably because of all the caved in ribcages but I tend to substitute my good looks were the cause instead of my fists" he says punching another minion with zeal.
Malik quickly forms handseals before gripping his bow and notching another arrow. The jutsu he cast should bind the limbs of several of the Triad that has made it up to the roof. He fires another arrow, a net springing out of it just before impact. For the moment, he's usuing non lethal techniques, but that can change in a heart-beat if the call was made. Sinbad continues to swoop down low and dive bomb with his sharp talons and his beak. Trying to draw blood.
Yagyu wanted to respond to Grim badly, but she couldn't let herself out just yet. It'd break her character too much. At the least, she could still get away with how she was at the moment. "Again, that was a long time ago Grandpa. Don't overdo it because I'm not going to have any of it when you start complaining about hurting again!" She sighed and rolled her eyes at his antics. "Well now, you're a Jaw-Breaker! So, you keep doing that! I'll just be over here, protecting our hat that we never sold!" AND NEVER WILL. THIS IS YAGYU'S HAT!
Triad members are getting tossed, probably more than they were supposed to be. Yagyu is pretty sure some are dead, but circumstances demanded that some blood be spilled due to how things turned out, so they're acceptable losses. So long as they don't realize who they are, they're fine. Besides, Birdguy is the defender of the night and day in these parts. Preeeety sure he's gonna have a bounty soon.
Super Grandpa Grim is in the middle of flex when a Triad member strikes him right in the chest with a violent slash, he raises an eyebrow looking down before dusting off his chest. "You are going to actually have to try a little harder, I swear you kids wouldn't know effort if it bite you in the turnips." he ducks under the sword grasping the swordsman by the leg in a grip that is like a steel trap snapping shut, before he lifts the leg and grasps the swordman around the neck flipping his body backward slamming the head/neck of his prey into the unforgiving roof. "Wait wait.. hold everything.. I forgot to shout the name of the attack before doing it, can we do it over?" he says getting to his feet to the guy who was in no condition to respond "Oh no? That's okay with you? Alright.. I'll try harder next time" he says side stepping a giant rock, a club or something that was hurled at him. "You could put someones eye young man!" he scolds before dithering his way over to the next batch of angry triads. "Who's next? Take your turn, don't shove. I'm not as spry as I once was" he says stretching with a hand on his lower back. "I'll be fine Misinko! I feel 30 years younger.." he says over his shoulder before adding "Have you seen my walking stick?" he asks.
As new Triad members take the place of the vanquished ones the attacks come towards Malik and he defends the only way he knows how. Dodging. He flips a few times, causing their projectiles to miss before he withdraws just plain old arrows and starts aiming for knee caps and shoulder joints. Nothing life threatening…but it would hurt enough to where they might not want to fight anymore. This also displays his knowledge of the human body, especially knowing how to hurt someone. "It's getting crowded up here. We need to change locations. Like right now."
"MASAKO! I want to hear you say it! Masako!" Yagyu called out, maintaining her character despite her current circumstances. "And yeah, your walking stick is right here!" She picked it up and threw it at Grandpa Grim with all the saltiness she could manage. Yeah, she wanted to find a way to get back at him somehow and this seemed like a small opportunity. "Catch!" She shouted, though she secretly, really, really hoped he didn't.
"This place is going to go down fast. We should just leave! Head down and get Inari—err, Inori to safety!" Great, now she's mixing up names. "Birdguy! I heard you have a tool belt that helps you do /everything/. Could you use one of your super duper tools to help us escape! Grandpa needs to get home and have his salves before he gets mad at me!" He better hope he has a tool for this situation, cause she's about to throttle him too.
There is suddenly a salt-laden stick burrowing in the back of his head, Super Grandpa Grim leans over rubbing the back of his head picking up the stick as a sword swipe that was aimed for him whooshes over his head. "Owwww! Koumasu! That hurt!" he says leaning back up looking at the swordsman in front of him. "Aren't you just a eager little wolf pup but you shouldn't bare your fangs if you just plan on barking" he chides him shaking a finger before balling his fist up in the purple explosion of orange fury "Heart-breaker!" he says aiming the blow for the triads chest before a pelt of blows hit him as he dodges, backpeddles or just takes the hit before backpeddling to where the others are gathered. "Yeah Bow-Boy do something useful with that new-finagled razzamatazz," before nodding to his faux granddaughter. "What'd you say Masaka?" he asks leaning on the stave.
Malik dodges a swipe from a club before he hauls Inori up to his feet. "Hold onto me." He withdraws more rope from his pack and ties it to the end of an arrow. He then takes aim and shoots it into the side of another building. Spikes shoot out of the arrow head, giving it more stability as he tests it briefly. "This is our way out. I suggest you move quickly, cause I'm going to cut it right after you guys swing across so we're not followed." And with that, he's gone over the side. He releases the rope and then uses tree walking to run down the side of the opposite building until he reaches the ground.
"Sorry! And it's /still/ Masako!!" Yagyu's fist balled up, but instead of laying it into Grandpa Grim, she took it out on the nearest Triad member. "How did you even get that close and /still/ mess it up?! I think you're doing it on purpose!" She huffed.
With their golden opportunity just a rope away, Yagyu takes the moment to head off and run towards it only to remember one final thing. 'Son of a ****…' she thought to herself. Have to get those clerks out. She went over to the hole and attempted to ascertain where they were. She's sure they'd take some burns, but if she gets them out now, they might live. Might. She focuses her shadow down into the building and feels around until it wraps around their bodies. She then pulls them up and onto the roof. They were in bad shape, but a medic should be able to get them together. That done, she runs off and clears the way of any Triads still looking to attack her. "Grandpa, come on! And grab old guy too!" She pointed out Inori while she headed for the rope once more. "You can't sit here all day and pummel people to death with your finger knuckles! Those are going to be hurting too!" She complained.
Try as they may, the Triad members weren't able to catch up to them. The rope was cut and those on it were sent tumbling. The rest had to clear the building before it all went down. Besides, the authorities were here and they didn't want to be around to talk with them. Good news is that the burning building shouldn't leave a trace of their activities. The bad news is that a lot of valuables were lost to it…
Inori, once safely outside of Rakuen, was explained the situation and given instructions of what to do upon returning to Suna. He'd be sent on his way from the Scoop towards the village. Yagyu watched him until he was outside of her sight and then she set her sights on Grim. "GRIIIIM!" She shouted at the top of her lungs while stomping over his way. What will happen to him? Stay tuned for next time! (Birdguy might be glad, at least this time, that he's not the target of her rage.)
